Help Rod & Aloa #HealTheHarrisHome #TexasFreeze
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My name is Wiley, and I live in Anaheim, California. This important fundraiser is for my friend and former high school classmate, Rod Harris, and his wife Aloa, to help them rebuild their home following the disaster in Texas.
Rod and Aloa live in North Texas, and are in the midst of an extremely difficult trial, having endured a series of major losses. The year before last, Rod lost his sister to cancer. Then, last summer, he lost his sister-in-law. Before the year was out, his mother was diagnosed with Stage 5 Alzheimer's. From October to the end of the year, Rod was making monthly trips between Dallas and Los Angeles to care for her. She was placed into hospice care on January 1st, but Rod had just undergone knee surgery and had to wait for clearance from his doctor to travel again. Her 91st birthday was on February 2nd, so Rod and his wife made plans to fly to Los Angeles on the 7th to surprise her. They did not make it in time - she passed away unexpectedly the day before. I remembered reading his brief, heartbreaking post on Facebook; it was clear that he was struggling to process it all.
Unfortunately, this was not the end of his ordeal. He stayed in Los Angeles to make the needed arrangements for his mother but was not able to schedule a memorial service earlier than March 3rd due to COVID restrictions. Scheduled to fly back on February 13th, their flight to Dallas was cancelled due to the severe winter weather. When they finally made it back on the 16th, they found their home completely destroyed. Plumbing throughout the house had frozen and then burst in every room. He consulted with a restoration company who determined that the home will require a complete rebuild at an estimated cost of $250,000 ($70,000 for water removal & drying and tear-down of all walls, floor, and ceilings; $180,000 to rebuild it all). His insurance company has categorized the incident as "water damage", capping their liability at $10,000, of which they will receive about $7,000.
At present, Rod and his wife, Aloa, are busy finding places to stay, fighting with the insurance company, pursuing assistance from FEMA (which will only come in the form of a loan, not a grant), and determining how many of their possessions can be salvaged. There are many unknowns right now and it's hard to say what will succeed, or when. Therefore, I am shooting for an ambitious goal on their behalf - raising the entire estimated sum for the rebuild. This amount does not include the cost of replacing any household items destroyed by water, just the home itself. They are still in the process of tabulating the total loss of household items. They have accounted for about $65,000 worth so far (furniture, appliances, etc.) and expect the number to exceed $100,000. Rod tells me they have some other coverage apart from their regular insurance for things like appliances, but are currently unsure if they will do better than their insurance company. As you can see, the scale of their material losses is severe, on top of all else they have endured.
Rod and Aloa have been married for thirty years. They have three adult children and three grandchildren. They have served their community as worship leaders in various churches over many years. Additionally, Rod has always had a passion for the elderly and prior to the COVID-19 outbreak was actively ministering to assisted and independent living facilities all across the United States by playing piano for the residents.
Rod and Aloa are accustomed to serving the needs of those in their community. Now, they could really use our help. Many of us have not had to experience such a dramatic series of losses, and I believe God is opening a door for us to help them and bless them. I pray you will be generous in your support and in spreading the word to others so they may also take part. The sooner we reach our goal, the sooner they can rebuild and be restored to their home, as well as be relieved of the struggle with insurers. Thank you all in advance for your generosity.
PS: Since GoFundMe charges a 2.9% fee plus 30 cents for each donation, please consider picking up these charges when you give so the maximum amount of your donation will go to Rod and Aloa.
Rod and Aloa live in North Texas, and are in the midst of an extremely difficult trial, having endured a series of major losses. The year before last, Rod lost his sister to cancer. Then, last summer, he lost his sister-in-law. Before the year was out, his mother was diagnosed with Stage 5 Alzheimer's. From October to the end of the year, Rod was making monthly trips between Dallas and Los Angeles to care for her. She was placed into hospice care on January 1st, but Rod had just undergone knee surgery and had to wait for clearance from his doctor to travel again. Her 91st birthday was on February 2nd, so Rod and his wife made plans to fly to Los Angeles on the 7th to surprise her. They did not make it in time - she passed away unexpectedly the day before. I remembered reading his brief, heartbreaking post on Facebook; it was clear that he was struggling to process it all.
Unfortunately, this was not the end of his ordeal. He stayed in Los Angeles to make the needed arrangements for his mother but was not able to schedule a memorial service earlier than March 3rd due to COVID restrictions. Scheduled to fly back on February 13th, their flight to Dallas was cancelled due to the severe winter weather. When they finally made it back on the 16th, they found their home completely destroyed. Plumbing throughout the house had frozen and then burst in every room. He consulted with a restoration company who determined that the home will require a complete rebuild at an estimated cost of $250,000 ($70,000 for water removal & drying and tear-down of all walls, floor, and ceilings; $180,000 to rebuild it all). His insurance company has categorized the incident as "water damage", capping their liability at $10,000, of which they will receive about $7,000.
At present, Rod and his wife, Aloa, are busy finding places to stay, fighting with the insurance company, pursuing assistance from FEMA (which will only come in the form of a loan, not a grant), and determining how many of their possessions can be salvaged. There are many unknowns right now and it's hard to say what will succeed, or when. Therefore, I am shooting for an ambitious goal on their behalf - raising the entire estimated sum for the rebuild. This amount does not include the cost of replacing any household items destroyed by water, just the home itself. They are still in the process of tabulating the total loss of household items. They have accounted for about $65,000 worth so far (furniture, appliances, etc.) and expect the number to exceed $100,000. Rod tells me they have some other coverage apart from their regular insurance for things like appliances, but are currently unsure if they will do better than their insurance company. As you can see, the scale of their material losses is severe, on top of all else they have endured.
Rod and Aloa have been married for thirty years. They have three adult children and three grandchildren. They have served their community as worship leaders in various churches over many years. Additionally, Rod has always had a passion for the elderly and prior to the COVID-19 outbreak was actively ministering to assisted and independent living facilities all across the United States by playing piano for the residents.
Rod and Aloa are accustomed to serving the needs of those in their community. Now, they could really use our help. Many of us have not had to experience such a dramatic series of losses, and I believe God is opening a door for us to help them and bless them. I pray you will be generous in your support and in spreading the word to others so they may also take part. The sooner we reach our goal, the sooner they can rebuild and be restored to their home, as well as be relieved of the struggle with insurers. Thank you all in advance for your generosity.
PS: Since GoFundMe charges a 2.9% fee plus 30 cents for each donation, please consider picking up these charges when you give so the maximum amount of your donation will go to Rod and Aloa.
Organizer and beneficiary
Wiley Rittenhouse
Organizer
Anaheim, CA
Rod Harris
Beneficiary